Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The following answers are at 'band 9' level. Which words and phrases help my answers to get such a high score? 1. What do you think makes a good lesson? I think a good lesson is one that is interesting and engaging. By 'engaging' I mean that the students should feel involved in the lesson; they should feel that they are learning something new that is relevant to them. In my opinion, a lot depends on how the teacher delivers the content of the lesson in a way that students like. My favourite teacher at university used to involve the students by making us teach some of the lessons ourselves. 2. Do you think it's better to have a teacher or to teach yourself? Well, there's no substitute for a good teacher. I think you can teach yourself, but you can learn a lot more quickly with the guidance of a teacher. For example, when learning a language, you really need someone to correct your mistakes; you can get the grammar and vocabulary from books, but books can't tell you where you're going wrong. 3. Do you think the traditional classroom will disappear in the future? I don't think it will disappear, but it might become less common. I think more people will study independently, using different technologies rather than sitting in a classroom. Maybe students will attend a lesson just once a week, and spend the rest of their time following online courses or watching video lessons. Posted by Simon in IELTS Speaking | Permalink | Comments (10)
where you attended this lesson what it was about and why you found it interesting
Here are some ideas for a description of a science lesson: 1. I'm going to talk about an interesting science lesson that I attended at secondary school when I was 14 or 15 years old. 2. It was quite a long time ago, so I can't remember every detail, but the lesson was about respiration. We learnt about how the lungs work, how we breathe, and how oxygen passes into the blood. The science teacher also talked to us about the effects of smoking on the lungs. 3. I found this lesson interesting because my science teacher, Dr. Smith, always introduced new topics by showing us a video. We watched a short film about how respiration works, and I found this much easier to understand than a science textbook. The film showed diagrams of the lungs to explain the breathing process. Later in the lesson we saw real photos of healthy lungs and lungs that had been damaged as a result of smoking; they had turned black. I think the image of a smoker's lungs is the reason why I remember this lesson.
I could also give more information about the teacher, his personality and why I liked him. The key is to tell a story and add details until the time runs out. Posted by Simon in IELTS Speaking | Permalink | Comments (9)
what happened who was involved and why you found this news interesting
Example topic choices for the question above: 1. My strong topic could be "education", so I'd say that I read a news article about universities using the Internet. Click here to see a recent article about this topic. 2. If you like football, you could talk about the news that Barcelona won the Champions League.
3. If you have studied the "health" topic for IELTS writing, you could talk about schools banning junk food. I did a quick search and found this article about schools in Dubai. Posted by Simon in IELTS Speaking | Permalink | Comments (21)
desirable location it stands out a famous landmark it's distinctive spectacular views the best vantage point
Here's my example description of a building in Manchester: 1. I'm going to describe a modern building in Manchester. It's called the Beetham Tower, and it's the tallest building in the city, with about 50 floors. 2. Although it's called the Beetham Tower, most people know this building as the Hilton Hotel. In fact, the bottom half of the tower is the hotel and the top half is apartments. The apartments are expensive
3. I'm not sure if I like the design of the building, it's just a huge glass tower, but it definitely stands out. It has become a famous landmark in the city. You can see it as you approach Manchester, and it's an easy place to meet people because it's so distinctive and easy to find. The most interesting thing about the Beetham Tower is that there is a bar/restaurant on the 23rd floor which has spectacular views of the city; it's definitely the best vantage point in Manchester because there are no walls, only huge windows, so you can look out over the city in any direction. I'd recommend anyone who visits Manchester to go there and experience the view. Posted by Simon in IELTS Speaking | Permalink | Comments (6)
This has been a recent question in part 2 of IELTS speaking: Describe something naughty you did when you were a child. Say - what you did - when you did it - why you did it - and explain how your parents felt about it. This is a difficult topic for most people, so it's a good idea to prepare for it before your test. If you can remember a real situation, use that. If you can't remember being naughty, invent an easy story like my example below. Example ideas: 1. I cheated in a test at primary school by looking at the answers in my book under the table. 2. I was about ... years old, it was a ... lesson. Give some more background about the lesson, the test, the teacher etc. 3. I hadn't studied for the test, I didn't want to fail and have to retake the test at lunchtime. Give reasons why you didn't have time to study. 4. The teacher caught me and told my parents. Explain their feelings: disappointed, angry, embarrassed. Explain the punishment e.g. they 'grounded' me for a week (informal expression, meaning 'they didn't allow me to go out or see friends'). Posted by Simon in IELTS Speaking | Permalink | Comments (15)
Describe a practical skill that you have learnt (e.g. cooking, driving). You should say
what the skill is how you learnt it why you learnt it and how this skill has helped you.
Advice: You need to make a quick decision, so I'd choose one of the given examples (cooking or driving). Then try to expand on each point. 1. I'm going to talk about driving, which is a practical skill that I use almost every day. 2. I learnt to drive a car by taking lessons when I was 17. My parents paid for me to have lessons with a professional driving instructor. I learnt by practising: first I had to get used to steering, changing gears and using the mirrors, then we practised things like reversing and parking. I also had to learn the highway code. 3. As a 17-year-old, I wanted to have the experience of driving a car, and I was fed up with having to walk or take the bus or train whenever I wanted to go somewhere. I also knew that driving would be an extremely useful skill. 4. Being able to drive has helped me in so many ways. The public transport where I live isn't very good, so I travel to work by car most days. Having a car makes my life much easier when it comes to things like shopping or visiting family and friends. (Last week, for example,...) Note: If you need to keep speaking, give examples for point 4. Posted by Simon in IELTS Speaking | Permalink | Comments (9)
3. Give an example Question: Do you think that school children should be encouraged to have their own ideas, or is it more important for them to learn what their teachers give them? Answer: I think that we should definitely allow children to be creative and have their own ideas. (why?) Children need to develop the ability to think for themselves and solve problems (why?) because as adults they will not always have somebody to guide them or tell them what to do. (alternatives?) If we don't allow children to have their own ideas, they will be less successful in the adult world; they will be too reliant on others. (example?) A doctor, for example, might encounter a situation that he or she hasn't been trained for, but will still be expected to make a decision that could save someone's life.
Think quickly during the one-minute preparation time: What can I use that I've already prepared?
where it is what you can do there and why you think it's an interesting place.
Here's an example description of a place I've visited. I've used the vocabulary from yesterday's lesson to describe London. Listen to the recording while following the vocabulary (see yesterday's lesson). Then you could practise your own description of London using the same vocabulary. Keep practising until you're happy. click here to listen
My advice is to prepare a description of one place that you could use to answer all of these questions. Then search the Internet for some good vocabulary. For example, here are some ideas I found to describe London:
Adjectives: it's exciting, busy, hectic, cosmopolitan, multicultural, unique. It's historic but modern at the same time, it's a thriving, prosperous city, it's fashionable, lively, fun... Activities: London is famous for it's history, culture, art, museums. Tourists go there to see Big Ben, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square etc. You can get a fantastic view of the city from the 'London Eye'. It's also famous for its theatres and shows in the West End, its shops, restaurants and nightlife. There are endless things to see and do. Negatives: London is expensive, crowded, stressful, polluted. The underground system is dirty, travel is overpriced and unpleasant. The cost of living is high (shopping, house prices etc.), the locals are always in a hurry and can be unfriendly, there are social problems (like you can find in most big cities).
Here are some example questions with good answers (band 9). 1. Do you work or are you a student? Im a qualified doctor, but at the moment Im studying English so that I can work in this country. 2. Do you enjoy your job? Yes, I really enjoy my job. Ever since I was a child I have always wanted to be a doctor; Ive always wanted to be able to help people. 3. What's the best thing about your job? The best thing about my job is that I can make a difference in peoples lives. Its a great feeling to see someone recover after an illness because my colleagues and I were able to help. 4. Do you prefer working alone or with others? Why? In a hospital you have to work as part of a team. Ive got used to working with others, and I think you can achieve a lot more as a team than you would alone.
we chatted (talked) to get together with (meet) to catch up with (talk to someone you haven't seen for a while) what my friends had been up to (had been doing) to wind down (relax after something tiring)
The examiner would consider these phrases to be "less common vocabulary". In other words, a few phrasal verbs or informal expressions can help you to get a high score in IELTS Speaking.
when and where it was who was involved what happened and explain why it made you happy.
The following description contains the kind of phrases that native speakers (like me) really use. I've underlined the best vocabulary. 1. When and where: my friend's birthday party, last Saturday evening, we went for a meal in an Italian restaurant. 2. Who: there were about 10 of us, he invited some close friends and work colleagues, most of them were people I've known since university. 3. What happened: we met at the restaurant, I gave my friend a present and a birthday card, we ordered some food, while we ate dinner everyone chatted, after the main course the waiter brought out a cake and we sang 'Happy Birthday', everyone went home quite late. 4. Why it made me happy: it was great to get together with old friends, I had some interesting conversations, it was a good opportunity to catch up with what my friends had been up to, it was a nice way to wind down after a hard week at work, the food was delicious, I went home feeling full after a fantastic meal.